organicgreendoctor: happy anniversary

organicgreendoctor: happy anniversary: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY this is mr h this picture is from several months before his kidney transplant a family friend drew this picture for him a ...

happy anniversary

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

this is mr h
this picture is from several months before his kidney transplant
a family friend drew this picture for him

a review of mr hs history
he had blockage that developed in utero that severely damaged his kidneys
he was born early and was in kidney failure and heart failure
his heart was ok but he had so much fluid backed up that he had heart failure
this heart failure improved and cleared the first few weeks of his life in icu
sadly his kidney or renal failure did not
his kidneys only functioned about 30%

the goal was to get him to 2 years old or 20 lbs so he could have a kidney transplant instead of having to go on dialysis

he had a lot of ups and downs those first 2 years of his life
as he was nearing his 2 years old he was scheduled for a possible kidney transplant but it was canceled because of covid


a search for a live donor was made
several relatives stepped up
one a distant cousins wife stepped up and said i want to donate

so they picked the person who had the best match
it was the distant cousins wife
so
she was selected to be the donor

the problem was she lived on the east coast
mr h was on the west coast
it was covid time so they did not want her to fly across country on an airline

luckily a private donor gave the use of their access to a private jet to fly the donor to los angeles to protect her from getting covid

leading up to the transplant time mr h was nearing needing kidney dialysis which they wanted to avoid

finally his nephrologist pushed the system to get his transplant done
it happened

five years ago 
it was covid time and only one parent could stay at a time with him sometimes
the transplant went well

however
he developed a high fever and they worried he could have an infection or rejection
it turned out to be a blood clot in his right arm
several days of iv heparin cleared that up and he finally got to leave the hospital

you could see his energy level explode almost on a daily basis

the last 5 years have been ups and downs so it goes in the transplant world

the worst was a couple winters ago he got real sick and was in icu for several days
i was able to stay with him in the icu room
at one point on day two i thought to myself
he is never going home he is that sick

however mr h is a tough guy
he made it through that event and has persevered through several more
he is a real trooper 


if you saw him you would not know he had any health issues
he goes 90 miles an hour
he loves sports especially baseball as well as any sport he is allowed to play

he has been receiving monthly infusions for a few months to prevent rejection and takes daily meds to  prevent rejection

he lets none of this slow him down
nothing

so mr h

today we wish you a happy kidney anniversary 
thanks for being an inspiration to us and others

thanks also to those who donated to his initial kidney fund that he can access far into the future to help with the costs involved  that insurance will not pay

thanks again

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #218-now its here almost

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #218-now its here almost: MY STORY REVISITED #118-NOW ITS HERE ALMOST thats me talking at our family reunion about the time i wrote this blog about the new alzheimers...

my story revisited #218-now its here almost

MY STORY REVISITED #118-NOW ITS HERE ALMOST

thats me talking at our family reunion about the time i wrote this blog about the new alzheimers tests that have almost finally arrived 10 years later
that day i talked about some of the things in the old blog below encouraging my family members to be proactive in their health care to maybe slow down their risks
i apologize for making some of them cry and tear up including myself

now 10 years later this blood test the accurate one is about to gets its final approval by the fda to be used in doctors office 

the test is called the Lumipulse G pTau217/β-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio test

beta amyloid forms plaques first then later tau tangles unwind 
both leads to brain cell death
later neuroinflammation sets in to kill more brain cells

the ptau and beta amyloid shows up in the blood and can be measured
a ratio is done between the two

here is an article i have linked before from being patient that describes this test
__________
10-30-2015

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A TEST SOON?

strewn across our family tree are lots of folks who died
from heart attacks and strokes
and
dementia probably alzheimers disease

when i reached 40 i had my first cholesterol level done
since it had been shown that an elevated cholesterol
especially the ldl cholesterol
the bad i always called it
was associated with an increased risk for heart attack and
later stroke was added to this warning

so because of my family history
my dad died of a heart attack my older brother had his
first one at 60 my mother had multiple strokes
interesting all three also had or probably have alzheimers disease
i decided to have my cholesterol labs or lipid profile done

whoa omg
is what i said when i got mine back
my total cholesterol was over 325 with normal less than 200
my ldl bad one cholesterol was over 240 with normal less than 100
my triglycerides were well over 500

so knowing what lay ahead for me
i did a lot of life style changes
diet
exercise
later a few years later i added the statins to my regimen
so
my lipids now are
total cholesterol less than 200
ldl cholesterol less than 90
my triglycerides less than 100

so having that blood test at 40
probably kept me from having a heart attack or stroke by now
both my dad and older brother had heart disease at my age

as it turns out
knowing now what we now know
it also probably slowed down the progression of alzheimers in
my brain
but at the time i didnt know that

remember whats good for the heart is good for the brain


now researchers have found a way to predict if you will get
alzheimers disease years before you develop it

now i am in a study at ut southwestern using an alzheimers blood test
that according to recent tests seems to be about 90% accurate
in predicting if you have alzheimers disease
years before symptoms start

yes folks that test or one like it will be in your doctors
before this decade is over

yes you can go to your doctor soon
get a blood test
yes you have alzheimers disease you will be told

so if i have alzheimers disease now
when i was 40 the disease process was starting to pick up
so that the bad beta amyloid and tau levels up there would
have been abnormal
my alzheimers blood test would have been positive

do you want to know
is society ready for this test
can you handle this back to the future test

i say yes i can
i sort of did 5 years ago when i got diagnosed
i made even more life style changes
like stricter diet exercise increased mental activity and
social activity more aggressive blood pressure and
cholesterol and weight control use of some
recommended vitamins and supplements that might help
etc etc

now also coming soon this decade
if the phase 3 tests show they work
new treatment and prevention medication can be used
to slow down or prevent this disease

so like the cholesterol test
the alzheimers blood test
can potentially add years and years of good health
alzheimers free

would you have it done
i know i would have
__________
so when i wrote this blog in 2015 i had already had a spinal tap which showed my amyloid and tau ratio was compatible with mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers
a blood test done at that time maybe would have made the spinal tap probably not necessary

i did have an alzheimers blood test in the first study i was in and have had them several times in the studies i have done
i just never were given the results

since my amyloid plaques are removed its possible my alzheimers blood test would not be positive now

where this new blood test which is 95%+- accurate fits in to the evaluation of memory loss is below

you first need to have memory issues
you need to be i think around 55 years old

you get a history and physical from your provider looking for treatable causes of your memory loss
you get labs like a cbc a thyroid level a chemistry profile and a vitamin b12 some would add a vitamin d3

a brief memory test like a moca test or a mmse test can be done in the office
based on the results a full neuropsychological exam may need to be done

an mri of the brain may need to be done to rule out treatable causes or other reasons for memory loss like strokes masses tumors too much fluid brain shrinkage etc or like rfkjr  a brain worm

then
a blood test the new alzheimers blood test could be done
if thats positive and the evaluation agrees with the diagnosis
then
you can stop there
or
if treatment is being considered an amyloid pet scan for amyloid plaques can be done

then
one might consider treatment with the anti amyloid monoclonal antibodies like leqembi or kisunia which my lower the memory decline by 30% +- 

also if your evaluation says you have alzheimers you probably need to take aricept or donepezil also to slow down symptoms

in clinical trials now are other meds to remove amyloid plaques and meds to remove tau tangles and meds to treat neuroinflammation

so today soon we will be where i hoped we would be 10 years go when i wrote this blog

we are here now 
almost

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-this is me

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-this is me:   ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THIS IS ME that is my wife she and i hugging at the covid walk to end alzheimers in santa barbara in i think 2020 a friend...

alzheimers news-this is me

 ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THIS IS ME

that is my wife she and i hugging at the covid walk to end alzheimers in santa barbara in i think 2020
a friend did this jacket for her
she always wears it at the alzheimers walks

as i was reading this article from the american heart association interview with dr daniel gibbs i thought
this is me

i realized that our history is similar
i seem to be a few years behind him

i have followed dr gibbs for several years since he wrote his book a tattoo on my brain

he is a retired neurologist
he was on the faculty for the university of oregon and was a research scientist

he quit because he struggled with part of what sounds like a neuropsychological memory test
he developed a 50% drop in his verbal memory
i quit because i did the same thing

he didnt want to cause harm
i didnt want to cause harm

he has the homozygous apoe4 gene
so do i

he writes a blog on his journey
so do i

he entered the biogen aduhelm treatment study
so did i

he had a massive brain bleed with his treatments
his mri showed small stains where he had the bleeds that he calls a tattoo on his brain
i only had ocular migraines
my mri hasnt changed since 2010

he almost died
i didnt

he dropped out of the study
i finished the study

he had amyloid plaques and still does
his disease has progressed some since i have been following him

my amyloid pet scan initially was positive for amyloid plaques
now it is negative
my memory has improved and has remained normal
however
recently i have noticed some subtle things that suggest my disease is taking off some
his has too but as he describes in this article he still functions so many folks dont notice anything unusual
but his wife does

he now has mild dementia
i am stil at mild cognitive impairment which is earlier in the disease process

he still writes and does interviews but his wife screens things and helps him
he no longer drives and does any financial stuff

i still drive
i still write
i still do all our financial stuff
that isnt affected 
yet
but i know its coming i just dont know when
what i notice is more subtle things 

i plan to follow him closely as he progresses since i seem to be following his course somewhat
i seem to be a few years behind him
we were diagnosed about the same time and are about the same age 

however
each alzheimers patient can do things differently
when youve seen one alzheimers patient youve seen one alzheimers patient

i feel i am lucky to have made it this far intact
I am hoping ill stay that way for awhile

I also use to say my younger brother was a mirror i saw myself
he and i were a year apart in our age
he as diagnosed with mild alzheimers in his mid 50s and the disease progressed into the final stages about 8 years later

it was disturbing whenever i saw him as i know thats where i will be one day
it also is disturbing when i read about dr gibbs
knowing that i am headed that way soon 

i am just glad i have had these last 15 years intact and hope for a few more years like this
knowing
when it does happen i will feel good that i had those extra years that he and others didnt get


this is me 
now
happy to be here intact so far
enjoying life for now

the organicgreen doctor 

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-15 ways not to get it

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-15 ways not to get it: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-15 WAYS NOT TO GET IT that is me about 10 plus years ago giving a talk with follow up questions at a senior expo in central ...

alzheimers news-15 ways not to get it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-15 WAYS NOT TO GET IT

that is me about 10 plus years ago giving a talk with follow up questions at a senior expo in central texas

a few years before in 2010 i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers when i volunteered to be in a normal control group of a large alzheimers study

after i was diagnosed i became aggressive taking care of my health

recently an article linked here listed 15 science based ways to reduce your risk of getting dementia

try a plant based diet
i say i am a 90% vegetarian
i mainly follow the mind diet with an occasional meal of meat usually chicken

exercise regularly 
i work almost 2-5 hours a day in my community garden and get around 7000+ steps in

get vaccinated
dont listen to rfkjr
i have had my flu covid pneumonia shingles tdap and rsv immunizations
i need to update my shingles and pneumonia vaxxines
getting infections especially viral ones can activate an immune response of inflammation that may affect the brain
plus you can die from these infections

take a daily multivitamin if over 60
i dont but i use to 
i do take b12 d3 and folate since my blood levels of these were abnormally low

avoid air pollution
our air here in santa barbara is usually good except during fire season

protect against traumatic head injuries
i have had 3 concussions in my lifetime
around 12 around 16 and around 50
the first was when my pole vault pole broke 
the second was playing quarterback in the 9th grade
the last time was playing softball when i got hit in the head with a knee sliding into 3rd base
that cost me an overnight stay in icu

protect your hearing
yes hearing loss can increase your risk of getting dementia
should i develop this i wont hesitate to getting hearing aids

maintain your social connections
i interact with multiple folks every day online and at our community garden 
eg i supervise up to 10 people in our garden 3 days a week
plus i get to interact with my grandkids several times a week
dont isolate yourself 

reduce feelings of loneliness
i am too busy to be lonely

monitor blood pressure blood sugar and cholesterol
dont just monitor them
make sure they are normal
dont be afraid to take medications to control these
i wish i had started meds in my early 40s
if your are middle age and younger its important to control these 

get a good nights sleep
i only sleep usually 5-6 hours a night but i take an afternoon nap each day so i get 7-8 hours a day
my aricept or donepezil i take for my alzheimers interferes with my sleep
be careful taking sleeping pills as you age

reduce alcohol intake
i havent had anything to drink for 5 years and usually had only a glass of wine at night before i quit

stop smoking
i smoked cigarettes for about 8 years but quit when i was 24
i smoked a pipe for another 10 years
luckily i quit about 40 years ago

try to avoid sleep medications
sometimes they mask other sleep issues such as sleep apnea

do crossword puzzles
it is important to keep the brain busy
i eg read several news feeds a day read a book every night and write this blog
so i keep my brain busy

so i am doing all of these healthy 15 things
plus
i was diagnosed real early

i started aricept as soon as i was diagnosed
they slows down the symptoms but doesnt stop the disease
folks who start it early like me live longer and do better over time

i received 34 monthly infusions of aduhelm which removed all of the measurable amyloid plaque from my brain

add all of this up and this is why i am still sitting here writing this blog and not in a long term care facility 

you need to start these science based healthy things early in your life to delay or prevent dementia

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: garden news-lattices

organicgreendoctor: garden news-lattices: GARDEN NEWS-LATTICES when i took my first memory test in 2010 called a neuropsychological test they showed me a number of photos to identify...

garden news-lattices

GARDEN NEWS-LATTICES

when i took my first memory test in 2010 called a neuropsychological test they showed me a number of photos to identify what they were

there were 3 i missed
a hammock
a sphinx
and one i cant remember what it was
now i remember it was a pelican
it was photos i should have remembered but i didnt
it was one of the disturbing things that showed up in the memory test
it is good that now 15 years later i can remember the ones i forgot

one picture i thought i got right but they said i was wrong
was
a lattice
i called it a trellis
they said no its a lattice
so counting that as wrong made my final score worse
although even if i got that one right not remembering the other 3 was disturbing

so when we talk about lattices in the garden my ears always perk up
you mean a trellis 
i still feel like i should have got credit for trellis

in our garden we use a lot of different lattices or should i say trellises

here are examples
they make caring for and harvesting our vegetables easier

this is a teepee that is about 8 foot tall

in 3 gallon buckets we planted christmas lima beans that will grow up the strings all the way to the top of the teepee
at the end of the season in october the teepee will have a covering of bean vines
it is a favorite place for kids to play in when they come to the garden in the fall


this lattice or trellis connects to raised 10 foot beds
growing at its base are trumpet squash tatume squash and 8 ball squash

they grow as vines up and over the trellis with its fruits hanging down
the walkway between provides a nice shady spot when it gets warmer
the trumpet vine squash looks like a swan hanging down
its quite impressive

this lattice or trellis covers from end to end a 10 ft raised bed
planted in one end is a chayote squash that will eventually cover all of the structure
planted in the bed also are rows of fava beans
we use the fava beans as a cover crop


the row on the right is cattle panel wired to wood posts or tposts
planted on both sides of this 3 foot bed are kentucky blue lake bean vines
up front on that lattice or trellis is jade green beans

in the upper right of the picture is a trellis made with jute string 
growing on it is yard long beans
these long beans love hot weather and are tasty right off the vines
we use them in salads 
they are great in stir fries also

also barely visible on the left side is a row of tomatoes 
there are 10 varieties
for trellising these we are using the florida weave to tie up the tomatoes
we also ran a long line across the top of the posts and have jute twine tied to each tomato to keep them off the ground
we also prune off all the leaves up about a foot to allow air circulation
 

this is a full picture of our tomatoes with the florida weave
those flowers are marigolds which acts as a trap plant for insects
we also plant basil near by

those plants to the left are yellow squash and zucchini squash


these emerite or french cut green bean vines are growing on this lattice panel or should i say trellis
these are eaten in salads cooked and commonly used as green beans at thanksgiving wrapped in bacon
they are good right off the vines as a snack


these are kentucky blue green beans on a cattle panel lattice or trellis
they are good snap green beans


this is a trellis or lattice of celebration tomatoes 
they are similar to celebrity
they are a mostly determinate tomato
we are growing it on this structure 
we weave the vines in the panels as it grows

we put straw under the tomatoes to keep in moisture in the soil and to keep down on weeds and to keep the water from splashing up diseases onto the plants
we use a thick layer of wood chips between all our rows of vegetables to hold in moisture and to keep down on weeds and the chips eventually will break down into compost


this panel or trellis or lattice will have malabar spinach grow up on it this summer
it will eventually cover the whole panel
the malabar i brought from texas with me 8 years ago 
i bought the original about 20 years ago at the natural gardener in austin
i brought one plant with me to santa barbara in a zip lock bag

these spinach are good in salads stir fries soups stews or eaten raw
they love hot weather

if you look closely at the far end of the row there is a walking stick kale or collard tree
it produces a ton of collards or kale all year round


this row on the right are early girl tomatoes growing on this trellis or lattice or panel
they always do good every year
they are the first tomatoes produced each year

we have a total of around 80 tomato plants in our community garden

on the left is a row of dino kale we planted last fall 
we will leave them in until they start to bolt or get disease laden with aphids


finally this last arch or panel or lattice or trellis is in our childrens garden
it runs like at arch from those green pots over to another bed
in those green pots are boysenberries that grow up the structure
on the other side are those 8 ball squash and trumpet vines that will also grow up and over the lattice

is it lattice or trellis or panel 
in the garden it doesnt matter what you call it
we understand what you mean

for my memory tests i call them a lattice

the organic green doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-a new fda approved alzheimers bloo...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-a new fda approved alzheimers bloo...: A LZHEIMERS NEWS-A NEW FDA APPROVED ALZHEIMERS BLOOD TES this is a copy of my spinal fluid amyloid and tau tests done not long after i was d...

alzheimers news-a new fda approved alzheimers blood test

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A NEW FDA APPROVED ALZHEIMERS BLOOD TES

this is a copy of my spinal fluid amyloid and tau tests done not long after i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in 2010
at that time it was not proven to be alzheimers
i was having minimal symptoms that mainly showed up on an extensive neuropsychological memory test

the first study i was in was called the adni 2 or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative 2
i started out in the normal control group but after my neuropsychological exam i was moved over to the mild cognitive impairment study group for the study

as part of the testing i had done was a lumbar puncture to analyze my spinal fluid
they took out an extra tube for me to send off to a private lab for analyses
even though they were doing the same test in the alzheimers study
they dont share the results with you

the spinal fluid analysis showed a lower amyloid level and an elevated tau level
they do a ratio of the two to determine if the levels are compatible with alzheimers

if i did not have alzheimers my level should have been in the upper left of that graft above
instead it was in the lower middle level real close to 
consistent with alzheimers disease

my second spinal test if done would have shifted over to the far lower right
consistent with alzheimers disease

this is consider the mild cognitive impairment range of the disease

this test confirms that my mild cognitive impairment is due to alzheimers disease

a year or so later i had another spinal tap in the study and i collected another tube of my spinal fluid to send off to the private lab to see if my test results had moved into the
consistent with alzheimers disease

however
the university was doing an multiple sclerosis study and they desperately needed clean spinal fluid that day for the study so i let them have my spinal fluid
i never got to send in that second sample

of course a few years later i had an amyloid pet scan that showed amyloid plaques which confirms my diagnosis
mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease

a quick review
amyloid plaque accumulates which kills brain cells
tau protein in the brain cells unwind and kills more brain cells
then an inflammatory reactions sets in to do more damage

this is what happens in alzheimers disease
this all worsens as time goes on

so when someone has memory issues in 2025
they see their provider for an evaluation
they have
a good history and exam looking for other treatable causes
like a stroke or low thyroid or drugs on sleep issues etc

then labs are done eg cbc chemistry profile thyroid level vitamin b12 vitamin d3

then a memory test is done
i would do a moca a montreal cognitive assessment test or equivalent test

then based on the above results
an mri is done to rule out masses tumors aneurysm stroke brain shrinkage etc

then
a spinal tap for amyloid and tau levels like i had done could be done
or
the new gold standard is the amyloid pet scan 
if one has alzheimers both of these will be positive

then if one has alzheimers you can start treatment like improving ones health and taking a drug like aricept
the sooner you start it in the disease process the better it works
patients actually live longer who are started on this earlier in the diagnosis

and or
if you are early in the disease you could start leqembi or kisunia to remove the amyloid plaques from the brain
which will slow down symptoms some
i took aduhelm a cousin to leqembi which removed the measurable plaques from my brain

soon in the future
after you start the work up and before you do a spinal tap or amyloid pet scan
the first is invasive the second is expensive

a new fda approved blood test can be done
it tests for the amyloid and tau in the blood and a ratio is done
its over 90% accurate

if is negative you probably dont have alzheimers
if its positive then an amyloid pet scan or a spinal tap for amyloid and tau is recommended to verify the diagnosis

i have had 2 spinal taps for similar tests multiple blood alzheimers tests and multiple amyloid pet scans and multiple tau protein tests
i only know the results of two of those
a positive amyloid pet scan before starting my aduhelm study and a negative amyloid pet scan when i finished my aduhelm study

somewhere in some computer is my lab and scan results that i can not access
i have asked for the results but have not received any yet
and i probably will not ever receive them

this new alzheimers blood test linked here is a big deal in folks having a memory loss workup
they may not have to have a spinal tap or amyloid pet scan
a simple blood test could be used to screen folks for the disease

so far its the only fda approved alzheimers blood test

i suspect it will be used a lot for these evaluations
it is only used in patients who have symptoms

go to this link from being patient who has a good review of this new fda approved test
if you are in the alzheimers world sign up for being patients newsletter

yes
this is exciting news

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: garden news-my happy place

organicgreendoctor: garden news-my happy place: GARDEN NEWS-MY HAPPY PLACE in 2017 when i moved here to santa barbara i started gardening at this community garden several months before we ...

garden news-my happy place

GARDEN NEWS-MY HAPPY PLACE

in 2017 when i moved here to santa barbara i started gardening at this community garden
several months before we moved here i was in santa barbara to scout out a community garden to garden since we were going to live in an apartment complex or condo 
i would need a place to garden
so
i found this garden below
i did a one hour tour of the place and told my wife she this is where i want to garden

i rented the plot a few months before we moved

the day after we arrived i planted my first plants in my garden plot
malabar spinach multiplying onions both which i brought with me from texas tomatoes peppers squash

originally i had one plot then i moved to two plots
i has 400 square feet of garden space
i have moved to a more sunny location in the garden to where i am now

originally before covid i volunteered once or twice a week in the garden
the number of volunteers were probably around 5 a week

after covid i became more involved with the garden doing more volunteer hours

i became sort of the back up garden manager

in this article linked here from california grown there is a link to this video and to a well written article on our gardens titled
a garden that gives back



the person in the video is our previous garden manager
she was a graduate student doing this is a part time job
she has now moved on now that she has finished school

when i and others interviewed her for the job we knew we wanted to hire her
when you watch the video you know why 

i was the backup garden manager so i took over when she left
i now am the volunteer garden manager for this beautiful well kept secret community garden

last year we raised over 7000 lbs of produce we donated to several groups
like
an organic soup kitchen a hospice program for the underserved a half way house for women a half way house for men homeless shelters and a few food banks

we now operate with about 20 volunteers a week that do all our work
i probably volunteer 15-20 hours a week here
its my happy place

my grandkids all four of them love to come here and roam around the 2+ acres

we have over 900 feet of garden rows that we grow organic vegetables
we grow tomatoes peppers several different squashes green beans kales lettuce carrots beets swiss chard malabar spinach collards broccoli cauliflower fava beans onions leeks sweet peas celery and more
we have around 40 fruit trees like lots of citrus  probably around 20 varieties guava papaya mango cherimoya jujube bananas avocados mulberries passion fruit sugar cane and some fruits i cant spell or pronounce

all of this gets donated to those in need

i get the privilege of managing all of this
i am the volunteer manager

i also am the chair of the committee that runs this place

we operate from grants and donations and fund raisers
one new grant source is seedmoney.org which happens in November for a month
it is a crowdfund source for community gardens

we do fundraisers like plant sales twice a year and have an evening in the garden in september and do educational classes

some folks donated via their ira end of year charity donations and others donate during the year

when it all adds up we get enough funds to keep the garden financed

we also run a fall educational program for about 500 local elementary students that is a 2 hour program that starts in our front pumpkin patch then to the rainbow food section then the session about bees and nature under the big ole pepper tree then a walk through the banana grove and finally ending on a session on seeds

kids love this program and each gets to pick their own baby pumpkin to take home

we also do a lot of tours each year eg we recently did a one hour tour of the garden with a girl scout troop who got to plant our squash seeds and our green bean seeds for our garden
they also got to take home fruits and veggies and worms and rolly pollies and feathers 

so this is my happy place
each day i get to go there and play is a good day

im happy 

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: new alzheimers vaccines

organicgreendoctor: new alzheimers vaccines: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEW ALZHEIMERS VACCINES when i first heard about the new drugs that were antibodies against amyloid plaques i called them al...

new alzheimers vaccines

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEW ALZHEIMERS VACCINES

when i first heard about the new drugs that were antibodies against amyloid plaques i called them alzheimers vaccines

actually they were monoclonal antibodies that were manufactured in the lab against the amyloid plaques
thousands and thousands of these antibodies were given with an infusion

my drug aduhelm was derived form a collection of antibodies obtained from older folks who did not get alzheimers disease

aduhelm was a collection of these antibodies as is the new drugs leqembi and kisunia
but
they are not vaccines

vaccines are like mmr flu covid rsv tetanus dpt  polio to name a few

these are antigens given in the shot that stimulates the body to produce our own antibodies against a particular virus or bacteria

several years ago they developed an alzheimers vaccine against alzheimers using antigens that were the whole amyloid protein so the body made antibodies against the amyloid protein
the problem was the body uses the amyloid protein for good things too
the vaccine worked but it also made people sick real sick like brain swelling sick
so
it was discontinued

now
researchers figured out if they broke the amyloid protein into parts and used the parts implicated in alzheimers that the body would make only antibodies against those parts and it seemed to work without all the bad side effects

in the theory of the development of alzheimers amyloid plaques form and kills brain cells
later
tau proteins began to unravel and form tau tangles which kills more brain cells
later
inflammation occurs that makes it worse

now
there are vaccines against the amyloid plaques
there are vaccines against the tau tangles

when do you give these
researchers are lookiing at folks who are early in the disease with minimal symptoms or even those who have no symptoms yet

maybe
even giving them long before symptoms start

the thinking would be to identify those with positive biomarkers for alzheimers disease
yes those will be available soon like within 5 years at your doctors office
if yours are positive then you could be given an alzheimers vaccine against amyloid plaques or tau tangles
maybe preventing you from getting alzheimers

these clinical trials are ongoing now 
some are in the phase 3 stage
which means they could be available for the public in 5 years

if they work

would i take one of these if i was 40 or 50 and had positive amyloid biomarkers and or positive tau tangle markers
the answer is with no hesitancy
yes
you betcha

pending of course no unusual or bad side effect that shows up in these studies

remember one thing that came out of the clinical trials for aduhelm leqembi and kisunia was the small incidence of brain bleeds called aria 
some were fatal

most at risk were those who carry like me the apoe4/apo4 gene

it wouldnt have and it didnt prevent me from taking my 34 monthly infusions of aduhelm

luckily i did  not have any aria

here is a nice article on this in being patient

count me in

organicgreendoctor: the unreal id

organicgreendoctor: the unreal id: THE UNREAL ID i dont have a real id and my passport is outdated so i will not be able to fly and will not be able to enter some federal buil...

the unreal id

THE UNREAL ID

i dont have a real id and my passport is outdated so i will not be able to fly and will not be able to enter some federal buildings
it is not that i dont want one i havent taken the time to do it yet

a real id will soon be required to fly later this month or to enter some federal buildings
you can get by on a passport to fly but im not sure about getting into a federal building

yes i plan on getting both of them 
maybe
after seeing this story below unfold im not sure i want to try

heres the story 
a sad story 
a screwed up story on where we have gone crazy

a relative of ours has a friend that plans to fly to san francisco from santa barbara to visit her daughter
this is a trip she makes once or twice a year

its an easy one
you drive about 10 min to our airport hop on a plan to san francisco and her daughter picks her up at the airport
its about a 45 minute flight to san frrancisco from here

if you drive it it can be 4-8 hours depending on the traffic

she is 93 years old
she is retired
she lives alone
she still drives so she has a real california state drivers license
she shops for herself
she goes to the doctors alone
she does her own banking
she cooks for herself and i might add is an excellent cook
she married about 50 years ago and was divorced later 

so now she has to have a real id or a passport to fly
she has no passport
her flight is paid for and is next week

so off to the dmv to get her real id
my wife she went with her to help get her through this 

she has a birth certificate
she has her divorce records
she has her state drivers license
she has her social security card
she has her utility bills
she has her bank statements
she has her rental agreements

so they waited in line and waited in line
you know how that is
then
that lady behind the desk that controls your future
said
no we have to have your marriage certificate to prove what you name is or use to me
not sure why
so where were you married 
i dont remember but i think it was santa barbara
no 
her relative thinks it was las vegas
it apparently was santa barbara almost 70 years ago
so they get out of line and off they go to the county office 
well
that was a long time ago the lady said it will take us a while to track it down
so our friend waited and waited and a week later they went down to the office again
no its gonna be awhile before we can find it
we will let you know
you know what they mean right its in the mail or ill call you

so 
back to dmv again
waiting in line
waiting in line
theres that lady again
no you gonna have to get that marriage license to prove your name

hint to that lady look at her drivers license you gave her and the rental agreement and the bills she had and her income tax form and her social security card and her social security checks

what else do your want
sorry
we need your marriage license

I do wonder if her name was smith or jones instead of an hispanic name would they have acted different

so
her grandson will drive her the long long trip to san francisco
her daughter will drive her back to santa barbara on a return long long drive

why

i realized if i wanted to fly somewhere right now i couldnt since i dont have an unreal id and my passport is outdated

i didnt renew it since i didnt think i would ever need it again
was i wrong huh

i wonder if we will soon have to go through all of this to vote

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: will my brain get doged

organicgreendoctor: will my brain get doged: WILL MY BRAIN GET DOGED i was in an alzheimers research study of one kind from 2010 when i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment due ...

will my brain get doged

WILL MY BRAIN GET DOGED

i was in an alzheimers research study of one kind from 2010 when i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers until the end of 2013 when i finished my last aduhelm infusion and my last mri and my last amyloid pet scan and my last tau pet scan and my last almost 4 hours of memory tests and my last huge blood testing

there is a lot of data in my medical records that scientists and researchers have been accessing for the last 15 years and still are

now what is missing is to hold my brain in a researchers hand and have them analyze it to see what really happened in my brain when i was alive
they can compare it to what they saw on all those tests i had done

this is how they figure out if they are correct in their thinking and research and if the meds i took really worked 

it is arranged so that when i die i will be shipped to UCLA so they can remove my brain then my body will be returned back to santa barbara for cremation

this allows them to seek how my brain looks and compare it to my greater than 10 mris or my 5 or so amyloid pet scans or my 3 or so tau pet scans

thats how they know if what they are doing really works

an invaluable source of scientific information

alas 
this all may get doged
you know like doge
like musks doge

in this article linked here from scientific american  funding has been halted for the universiity of california davis alzheiemrs research center
this is happening at many other important alzheimers research centers

it is centers like these and the alzheimers research center at ucla that advances the research in the alzheimers world that gives us the advances like the aduhelm and leqembi and kisunia alzheimers drugs that may slow down the disease

its the basic research thats done that leads to the development of the drugs that we eventually use

these cuts or holds on funds are stopping research in its tracks 
even some of them that restart will be severely affected by the stoppage of the research
it will set research back 

we have been making good progress on alzheimers research 
now is not the time to have it stop

i dont want my brain that i have endured 15 years of my time my getting probed mentally and physically and getting all those scans and blood draws and infusions and scans to go to waste

i dont want my brain to get doged

call your congress representative and complain

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #217-yes i can help

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #217-yes i can help: MY STORY REVISITED #217-YES I CAN HELP over the last 15 years i have been contacted by a lot of folks asking for help for themselves or thei...

my story revisited #217-yes i can help

MY STORY REVISITED #217-YES I CAN HELP

over the last 15 years i have been contacted by a lot of folks asking for help for themselves or their loved ones who may or may not have memory issues

many are family or friends or former patients and many i dont know them

my advice is always if someone is having memory issues that they get evaluated for memory loss
__________
10-13-2015
ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE

i frequently get messages like this via facebook email
messenger or texting
folks asking for help deciding what to do for
themselves or a loved one with memory issues

this person a former patient
no i consider them once a patient always a patient
messaged me
asking for help with her parent who lives with the family

my parent is having memory issues
my parent had an episode of several minutes where
they didnt know who they were or where they were
they were confused
then it cleared up
i dont know what to do

so i went into my doctor mode
my alzheimers disease memory loss mode

from hearing the story i knew this patient would eventually
end up at a neurologists office for definite care
however
knowing the system like i do it can take awhile for someone
to get into see a neurologist

so enter the primary care provider
the entry road to the healthcare system

i knew that there were possibilities causing this
some of them real bad
some of them that couldnt wait that long to see the neurologist

like a brain tumor a stroke a hematoma from a fall an aneurysm
too much fluid in the brain
things that really needed to be ruled out sooner than later
things like vascular dementia alzheimers disease could be
diagnosed at a slower pace with no rush in doing the workup

i recommended a primacy care provider appointment as soon as
possible
if before the appointment the episode occurred again
the parent should go to the emergency room

eg i remember my mom had slipped and fallen
when she was taken in a ct scan was done which showed
a subdural hematoma from the fall
luckily it was small and nothing had to be done about it
a larger one that continued to bleed would have required surgery

if i was the primary care provider for this patient
i would do a careful history and examination to look for causes
of their memory loss and confusion
an irregular heart beat eg atrial fibrillation can cause clots
to be sent up to the brain causing these symptoms
a fall uncontrolled blood pressure uncontrolled cholesterol
uncontrolled diabetes
medications that would affect the memory
symptoms of depression or severe anxiety or lack of sleep
on exam i would look for signs of neurological deficits
like drooping of face or eyelids or muscle weakness or
increased or decreased reflexes gait problems
confusion in answering questions

i would probably do a brief mental exam to generally find out
what the memory level was

my priority for this visit would be to find an acute cause
that could be life threatening that needed to be addressed

then based on what showed up in the history and exam
i would do screening labs like cbc chemistry profile thyroid level
vitamin b12 and probably add a vitamin d level while i was
drawing blood and add an urinalysis
elderly patients especially females can get confused from utis

then i would do an mri on this patient to rule out most of the
bad things that could be going on that would need sooner
treatment

other things to consider would be a carotid ultrasound to
check neck circulation

so a primary care provider could and should do all this workup
then fine tuning the care can be done by them
or referral to an appropriate specialist

on her parent the mri showed some brain shrinkage
and what sounds like white matter hyperintensities
although i dont have the mri to look at

these are areas that start showing up in folks who may
have eventually have a stroke or have alzheimers
its associated with high blood pressure high cholesterol diabetes
i think of them as microscopic strokes in some cases
from either hemorrhage or ischemia
eg i have two of these on my scans but over five years there have
been no new ones

so she is left with a parent who has some mild atrophy of the
brain with memory loss

there is an upcoming neurology appointment
this parent should not let the parent go to any of their appointments
alone
so whats left to do
maybe more labs
carotid ultrasound
memory test probably in office or neuropsychological test to see where
the patient is with their memory and to act as a baseline

so if nothing else is found
this parent may have memory loss from vascular causes
ie vascular memory loss

the idea is to maximize a persons health
good control of blood pressure and diabetes and cholesterol
maintain good sleep habits
watch for anxiety and depression
be careful with medications
avoid excessive alcohol
do exercise even if its walking around the block once a day
be active
make sure the person is active socially
dont let them isolate themselves get them involved in something
make them stay mentally active reading writing using the computer
if possible
dont let them get stagnate

sometimes aspirin is added
sometimes based on what the memory loss looks like
aricept or (donepezil) like i take is added

then
they and their family need to be ready for the future
start planning now
make sure these documents are done now
will power of attorney power of attorney for healthcare living will
no cpr form for when things get worse
families wait too late sometimes to do this and it takes
the legal system and courts to get these done
please dont wait on these

i have all these forms done

then be ready as someone in this family will become
a caregiver
a tough tough job sometimes

then do all this
but
enjoy each day as much as you can with this person
sometime in the future you and your family will
be glad that you did

thats what i would tell her and others that ask me
enjoy the moment
___________
not long ago a former patient reached out to me about her retired husband whom she was worried about his memory issues

my advice is always get evaluated

he did although the system was slow about doing his evaluation

he had a good thorough workup like the one i mention above

his final diagnosis
he was depressed
his memory returned to normal after his depression was treated

i have seen similar stories
a patient with the diagnosis of severe sleep apnea
this was treated and memory improved

i have seen patients who were abusing drugs and alcohol who had their memories clear up after discontinuing these

i even had a patient a young man who started having memory issues who was about to lose his job
during the evaluation it was found he was remarkedly hypothyroid 

when his thyroid medication was started he gradually over several weeks returned back to normal

so
everyone who has memory issues warrants an evaluation to look for treatable causes like those mentioned above

get evaluated
make your appointment only for memory loss
you can start with your primary care provider
make sure the workup is a thorough one
if the person has memory loss they may need someone to go with them 

if you do turn out to have mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers or mild alzheimers consider taking the new antiamyloid drugs leqembi or kisunia to remove the amyloid plaques
you need to understand the risk of taking these medications though
i chose to accept those risks
I took aduhelm a cousin to these drugs for 34 months and it removed may amyloid plaques in my brain

also if you are diagnosed get started early on on aricept or donepezil or a similar drug as it may slow down symptoms

then
maximize your health

the organicgreendoctor